Minnie Minoso and Luis Aparecio were the first two Latin Americans to play the game. They both came from Cuba back before it fell to Castro, who by the way, wanted to be a NY Yankee in his youth. After Cuba fell, many players started to come in from Dominican Republic.
As far as McClellan goes, he was a crappy general. Lincoln fired him for retreating after threatening Richmond, and rehired him 3 months later, right before Antietam, which was considered a draw, although Lee and the Rebels retreated back across the Potomac. Lincoln then fired McClellan again, and hired Burnside, who sucked as much as McClellan and got thousands of Union kids killed trying to breech Fredericksburg 3 months later.
McClellan then ran against Lincoln in 1864 as the “Peace Candidate” but was trounced after a string of resounding Union victories in Tennessee, the Shenandoah Valley, and with Richmond and Petersburg under seize, which showed that the war was wrapping up.
I think that Aparicio was from Venezuela.
Minnie Minoso and Luis Aparecio were the first two Latin Americans to play the game.
I think Adolfo Luque was the first.